Student researching concepts of beauty crowned Miss Tonga

A Tongan-New Zealand student has been crowned Miss Tonga after entering the beauty pageant as part of her practical research.

Waikato University student Rosemarie Fili has told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat her involvement in the pageant started out with her writing an academic paper about differing concepts of beauty.

"I wanted to look at what is the Tongan definition of beauty....and I thought the perfect context would be the pageant...they are the faces that Tongans select to represent local Tongan girls," Ms Fili said.

"I went to my supervisor and said I would like to join the pageant in order not just to observe on the outside as other people had done before, but actually join and see what's happening behind the scenes, behind these beauty pageants.